


Princesses and Pirates

by Arro_Sohng



Series: Sail Away With Me [4]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Arranged Marriage, Ben is eighteen, Captian Hook sucks, F/M, Flashbacks, Harry Hook Loves Uma, Harry is seventeen, King Adam is not a good ruler, Light Dom/sub, Nightmares, Sexual Content, Some Swearing, Technically cheating, Uma being forced into an arranged marriage but still loves Harry, Uma is a Goddess, Uma is royalty, Uma is sixteen, Uma takes care of Harry, Ursula is Triton's sister, Ursula is dead, at least to Harry, breifly mentioned attempted suicide, but only kind of, but only sometimes, fake personalities, kind of mermaid Harry Hook, neither is Triton, secret Huma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:40:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24170725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arro_Sohng/pseuds/Arro_Sohng
Summary: When King Adam formed the Isle of the Lost, King Triton took Uma daughter of Ursula into his court. There she is a princess of Antlantica, and hates every second of it. Until she meets a wild, gorgeous pirate and saves him from drowning. He is instantly captured by her silent siren song, and pledges himself to her. But being in love with the outcast princess is dangerous, as they soon find out when Crown Prince Benjamin is dumped by his girlfriend, and Uma is offered as a replacement in time for his coronation.
Relationships: Gil & Harry Hook & Uma, Harry Hook/Uma, arranged Ben/Uma
Series: Sail Away With Me [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659295
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	1. Sea Princess

**Author's Note:**

> I probably shouldn't be posting new things when I have so much I'm supposed to be updating but I couldn't resist.

Uma paced her room. She was to meet her _betrothed_ in the morning. The suite provided by the high king was nice enough, but completely not her style. The servants had finally vacated, leaving only her personal guard. Gil was stationed beside the door, but Harry sat on the end of her bed, watching her with uncanny blue eyes.

It had begun weeks ago. She had been going about her usual business, when she was summoned to the throne room of her uncle, King Triton. She had obeyed the summons, and found herself floating face-to-face with the sea king. She glanced over at the golden trident in his hand, the cause of all her problems. She wished many times a day that her mother could have simply been content with casting spells and stealing souls. Instead, she had attempted to steal the trident and got herself killed and her only child sentenced to the miserable life of a princess. Every day, she was reminded of how to behave as marine royalty. _"Keep your tentacles tucked in","Say please","Don't be late","Don't laugh like that","Keep away from boys","Restrain your magic"._ She found the last two the most difficult. A princess shouldn't be afraid of boys, they should rule them, as they ruled the sea.

And then there was her magic. Besides the fact that she was refused any training whatsoever, she was forced to wear her mother's necklace - and main source of power - at all times. The thrum of the sea and the beating hearts of every mer-person were constant sensations in her mind. Half the time, she was convinced the other royals were just _dying_ to see her fail, to give them an excuse to pack her off to the Isle of the Lost with the rest of the villains and their kids. She had only been spared because she was technically a princess, and Triton would ruin his image by sending a princess to exile.

On this particular occasion, Uma received the worst news of her life. When she heard, she could hardly process the information. Barely making it through a formal goodbye, she swam for the surface as fast as she could. 

The nearest shore was a tiny unnamed island that mostly consisted of beaches, with three palm trees in the center. She changed to human form and stormed up the beach, throwing the uncomfortable shell top the mermaids wore to the ground. She sat in the sand, the white granules sticking to her wet, bare body. Uma heard a soft thud behind her and turned, ready to yell. Instead, she was flooded with totally irrational relief as she recognized the red coat and dark hair.

"Harry," she said. Of course she had unconsciously sought him out. The pirate boy strode across the sand, carrying a furry coconut.

"What's wrong?" he asked, popping comfortably in the sand beside her, not in the least concerned by her lack of clothing. She should have expected him to pick up on her agitation.

The two had met years ago, when she was six. Uma has escaped her tutors and was swimming where she had never before been allowed. Suddenly, a cloud of bubbles obscured her vision. Upon closer inspection, it was a dark-haired boy in rags, maybe a year older than herself, plunging into the depths, bubbles escaping his open mouth. without thinking, she had wrapped her turquoise tentacles around him and pulled him to safety. Once one land, he protested loudly, complaining that the point of drowning was to die. She had asked him why he wanted to die. He stared at her with an unreadable expression, then reluctantly told her about his life on the pirate island, about his crazy, drunk father who hit him, about his sisters who couldn't protect him, and often added to his apparent self-hatred.

At twelve, he had been conscripted to the guard of the sea for his father's crimes. Triton used the trident to allow his to switch between the two legs he was born with and a black mer-tail. A small mercy that he could still be himself. In those days Uma had seen very little of her best friend.

"I'm engaged," she said. A series of emotions crossed his face: shock confusion, betrayal, anger, horror.

"W-what?" He stopped pulling hair off his coconut.

"To the fucking crown prince of Auradon," she explained. "Apparently, his would-have-been bride dumped him a month from coronation, so King Adam sent requests for a replacement. Triton was the first to volunteer a princess." She looked at his wide-eyes expression. "I leave in a week."

The words seemed to hit him like a brick to the face.

" _Shit."_

He stopped breathing.

"Chan eil, chan eil, chan eil," he muttered. "Ye cannae lea'. Chan urrainn dhut falbh. Chan urrainn dhut mo fhàgail." His voice broke, and she could hear his tears. "Uma, ye promised ye wouldn't lea' me. Chan urrainn dhomh a ghabhail. Thig iad air ais. Thig iad air ais, agus bidh mi uile nam aonar."

"Shhh, Harry." She ran her fingers through his hair. "You know I can't understand you when you talk like that. I'm right here. We'll be fine."

They spent close to three hours on that beach, Uma calming Harry down, then both of them falling into tear-induced exhaustion, sleeping with Harry almost on top of her to stay warm.

As it turned out, Uma used every bit of authority she had in the matter to make Harry her personal guard, a position that made sense because he was the best soldier out of the amphibious guards.

Now he sat on her bed in a black and red uniform, as caged as she was in the ridiculous room. In Auradon they had met a guard named Gil, who was friendly and sweet. She was glad he had been appointed as their guide. 

The sky outside was dark. The clock read past midnight. As she finally stood still, she noticed Gil yawning.

"You may be dismissed," she told him. He beamed at her gratefully and slipped out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Uma sighed and flopped onto her new bed. Harry crawled towards her like a curious kitten.

"Ye look lik you need relaxing," he commented dryly. If she hadn't been looking, she might have missed his smirk.

"Then relax me, O faithful servant."

Harry laughed and braced one of his arms on the other side of her torso, still on his knees to her right. He lowered his head to kiss her. When he pulled away, they were both gasping for breath.

"Relaxed?" he asked, panting slightly.

"Nah," she said, forcing as much sarcasm as possible into her words. 

He laughed again and kissed her neck. He trailed his tongue and lips across her throat. She relished the feel of his adoration, breathing in his gunpowder and rainstorm scent. He kissed below her ear and whispered something in Gaelic.

"Clothes," Uma commanded.

Harry finished kissing her and slid his strong arms behind her back, pulling her up to his lap. He kept his face tucked into her neck, whispering prayers to his sea goddess. His fingers searched through layers of satin and lace for buttons, zippers, and ties, slowly but surely loosing her as easily as he loosed the sails of a ship. When she finally let the dress fall away, his breath caught. With no small amount of satisfaction, she straddled his waist with her legs and set to work on his jacket. Soon that and his shirt joined her dress on the floor. She ran her hands his sculpted and scarred chest. She knew every inch of her pirate, and she owned it all.

"We kin dae this," he assured her. They would have to. There was no choice but for her to marry Ben. Harry couldn't exactly kill the future king. All he could do was follow her to the ends of the earth, loyal to a fault, even when she was kissing another man.

Harry bit the corner of her mouth, pulling her away from her thoughts.

"A'm yers," he said against her lips. Uma kissed him thoroughly before answering.

"And I'm yours," she whispered back.

"Ah wull follow ye anywhere," he swore.

"To the ends of the earth-"

"Tae the bottom of thae sea-"

" _Forever,"_ they breathed in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> Here's some lovely Huma stuff, because they're my OTP. I have a part of chapter two written, but I would love ideas, so please comment whatever. At this point I think the fandom has generally accepted the fact that Harry views Uma as a goddess as canon, so I'm not stealing anyone's idea when i mention this concept. Just wanted to clear that up.


	2. The Court

Uma woke alone, which concerned her. Harry wasn't supposed to leave her side. She looked around the room and noticed his clothes missing from the floor and her dress now draped over a nearby chair. She was tucked into bed with the blankets pulled all the way up to her chin, undoubtedly the work of Harry since she never slept like that and he had an obsession with keeping her warm. As soon as she sat up, she was glad he did, because the air was cold and she wasn't wearing clothes. At the end of the bed there was a pile of white cloth that looked as if someone had thrown it there. When she picked it up she found it to be a pair of pajamas. She gratefully slipped them on and went to the window.

Wispy drapes billowed in the breeze as she looked out at Auradon. The capital city was beautiful - orderly and elegant - but it looked fake. It lacked life. A few cars roved the nicely paved streets, but the faint rays of dawn were greeted by relative silence.

Uma was to meet Prince Ben today at breakfast. Just yet another event to pull up a sweet, defenseless mask. The image for a princess was even more strict here. At least they also seemed to be more spoiled, so perhaps she could get away with a few demands.

There was a knock on the door. and Harry entered carrying a large, flat box.

"Where have _you_ been?" she asked as he closed the door behind himself with his foot.

"Wandering th' ground fur hours wi' that Gil lad," he said, setting his cargo on her bed. "Parntly, King Beasty says a'm tae know mah wey around this steid."

She frowned. Auradon Royals weren't supposed to have any say over her guard.

"What's in the box?" she asked, letting the matter drop for the moment.

"Yer clothes," he said, opening the box to reveal a folded dress in royal blue and gold. "Took it aff a servant," he added with a grin. "They were comin' tae dress ye. Shoulda seen th' lass's face when I said a'd dae it mesell."

Uma could very well imagine the look on a proper Auradon girl's face when her insane pirate stole a princess's clothes and declared he was going to her rooms to dress her. She laughed, though she didn't feel like it, and his smile spread wider at the sound.

"Do your job, then." She closed the curtains pf the window and locked the bedroom door as he emptied the contents of the box onto her bed.

She positioned herself in front of a wall mirror and waited for him. Harry deftly undressed her, tossing the pajamas on top if yesterday's dress. He helped her into her undergarments, adjusting the straps the way she liked them. Then he draped the new dress over her small frame, carefully tying and fastening the buttons up her back while she held her long braids out of the way.

"Ye look bòidheach," he said as he finished. He stepped back so she could look into the mirror.

The dress was surprisingly nice, with a darker blue than usual and a metallic gold instead of that obnoxious yellow color. The top was tight fitting and covered with blue lace and swirls, the skirt tiered in uneven ruffles to her ankles.

An hour later, both Uma and Harry were on their way to one of the "smaller" dining halls, escorted by Gil. Harry was dressed in his uniform, similar to those of Auradon, but black with some red accents. When they had lived in (or slightly above) the ocean, he had worn short pants and a long red jacket. His boots were almost the same as the ones he had worn just days earlier, except nicer and with less holes. Also unlike the Auradon guards, he wore a sword at his side, the same cutlass with the two red ribbons - or rather, strips of cloth - he had carried for years.

As they walked, listening to the pleasant chatter of their escort, they also sank into the roles society had assigned them. Harry was no longer a reckless and adventurous pirate, but a silent and imposing protector. Uma was no longer a fierce and commanding sea witch, but a sweet and frilly princess, excited to finally meet her new fiance.

Gil stopped in front of pair of polished doors.

Uma took a deep breath. In there, she was not herself. In there, he had no voice. In there, they were not something to each other that the label of lover would never begin to cover, simply a royal and her guard.

She spared a glance at him, just one glance before she would enter the artificial world of the court. He stared straight ahead as if he could ignore the whole world. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but she was a princess now, delicate and proper, two things she had never been.

Gil pushed the door open.

The dining room was elegant, to say the least. Far to formal for a breakfast. The floors were polished to gleaming, the windows crystal clear, the pale yellow drapes perfectly tied back. A massive chandelier hung over the table on a thin gold chain, intricate patterns blossoming from the base to spread along the ceiling. The table itself was long and set with fine utensils and dishes, laid out on a white cloth with lace around the edges. Sitting in ridiculously fancy chairs was the court itself. At the end of the table sat an ebony-haired girl with freakishly pale skin and rosy lips, undoubtedly Snow White. Beside her sat her prince, then various other royals, all with a single guard behind their chairs, dressed in the colors of their state. Behind a golden-haired woman in a pale green dress - presumable Queen Aurora - stood a young man in a pink and blue splattered uniform. Aurora and Phillip were the parents of Ben's previous girlfriend, Princes Audrey. Uma didn't fail to notice that they were placed far down the table from the high royals.

At the head of the table, King Adam was seated, surrounded by blue-and-yellow clad guards. To his left: Queen Belle. An to his right... his son, Prince Ben. Uma's stomach turned at the sight of the empty chair beside him.

"Princess Uma of Atlantica," declared a voice from beside the door. She tried not to flinch, and resisted the urge to turn.

All eyes went to her - and not in the way she liked - expressions ranging from hostility to benevolence to delight.

She curtsied with a sickly sweet smile and then straightened to peer at her soon-to-be husband. Ben, to his credit, looked awestruck, which prompted some satisfaction on her part, but not a lot, because he didn't look at her with the same worship Harry held in his ocean eyes.

"LeGume!" King Adam snapped, causing Gil to flinch. _LeGume..._ the name was familiar, so she tucked the information away to ponder later. Right now, she had a court to fool. "Please, show the lovey princess to her seat."

Gil bowed and gestured to the empty chair, pulling it out for her. When she sat, he took his place among the King's guards, Harry taking his behind her chair. The breakfast resumed.

"Tell us, Princess Uma," King Beast began. "How do you like Auradon?"

 _It's horrible and fake,_ she wished she could say. _There's not enough people, and you seriously need to invest in some beaches._

"It's lovely," she replied instead.

"And your rooms?" Belle asked. "Are they to your liking?"

_No, I don't like them and I don't want to be here. I want to go home and lay on a beach with Harry and maybe build some sandcastles._

"Oh yes." She was vaguely aware of a servant coming to fill her plate.

"I'm, uh," Ben cleared his throat. "I'm glad to meet you. I'm Ben." Uma nodded. "I hoped - hope - you'll consider joining me later. Perhaps far a ride to the Enchanted Lake? I would love to get to know you more." He looked nervous, even though he knew perfectly well she had no choice but to agree. Didn't he?

"Can Har-my guard come?" she corrected herself.

"Of course, though you'll be perfectly safe."

She tried for a shy smile.

"Of course."

And that was all.

The remainder of the meal passed in much the same way. Occasionally, Belle would comment on how wonderful it would be to have new daughter, making her obvious distaste for Audrey known. Uma rarely spoke; her mother hadn't been kidding when she said the land-dwellers preferred a lady to be quiet. When the court had finished, she returned to her room to dress for the outing Ben had promised.


	3. Little Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this to Descendants 1.

As soon as the lock was turned, both she and Harry made straight for her (their) bed and proceeded to flop dramatically onto the pillows. While they were at breakfast, someone - presumably a maid - had made the bed and taken her clothes.

Harry sighed into her hair, because they had somehow fallen unnaturally close together, definitely closer than her new fiance and his family would have liked.

"How long dae we ha'e?" Harry asked.

"Only an hour," she replied.

"Kin we take a nap?"

"Pirate needs his beauty sleep?" she teased, but in reality she was already settling closer into his embrace.

"In mah defense," Harry protested. "Ah did wake up about five hours afore ye."

Uma smiled, though she knew he couldn't see it.

In only a few minutes, they were both asleep.

Unfortunately, what seemed only a few minutes later, they were roused by a knock on the door. Or rather, Uma - who had more experience with these sort of things - was roused, and she woke Harry - who was accustomed to sleeping with screams and cries as background noise, only reflexively waking to the sounds his father made. Once they dragged themselves out of bed and Uma spent about two seconds attempting to flatten Harry's hair (it didn't work), she opened the door.

Two servant girls immediately brushed past her, both carrying bundles of clothes. Over the next twenty minutes or so, the girls whisked her in and out of outfits while Harry stood by and watched. (Which made them both very uncomfortable, they kept blushing and glancing in his direction). At last they settled on a loose, light blue linen dress that fell just past her knees. They gave her low-rising lace-up boots, which surprised her, but she liked. After much arguing, she let them undo her braids, which fell into tight, slightly frizzy ringlets. The girls gave her only the most basic make up - light lipstick, mascara, slightly golden eyeshadow - and no jewelry except the golden shell she always wore. Then they gathered up their things and left without a goodbye.

"Now th' little prince wull hae nae choice bit tae fall in love wi' ye," Harry said, gently tucking teal curls behind her ear.

She stared into his black-rimmed blue eyes, about to kiss him, when the door opened again and a messenger came in. ( _Damn, they really needed to learn to knock. She would have to start locking the door more often)_. Harry pretended to simply be adjusting her hair. The yellow jacketed messenger declared that they were to leave. Without another word, they started for whatever ride the prince had prepared.

* * * *

The ride turned out to be a carriage. 

Ben was waiting at the door with Gil by his side. Apparently it was his eternal punishment to guard the child of his father's enemies, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, Uma was starting to like Gil more and more for his friendly and easygoing demeanor.

Uma and Ben were seated inside the coach while their guards sat with the driver. They traveled for a while, Uma pulling up the giggly princess mask each time the prince made an attempt at conversation. In a thankfully short time, they arrived at the beginning of a trail. They walked along it for sometime. Ben kept trying to shake the guards, and he was not subtle in the least. Occasionally Gil would be interested in whatever flower or shrub he pointed out, but Harry's easily stayed with them (which was probably her fault: they had played so many games of hide-and-seek he could likely track her in a hurricane).

Eventually, the prince was getting a little too dismayed at his failures for her taste. At the next pathetic attempt, she glanced over her shoulder and silently told Harry to play along. He rolled his eyes, but consented after glaring at Ben briefly and then holding up five fingers. With ridiculously feigned enthusiasm, Harry closely investigated the next bug Ben pointed out, encouraging Gil to be fascinated by the dots on it's wings. Uma smiled at him and let Ben frantically drag her away.

Only an hour. For whatever reason, Harry liked to measure time in twenty minute intervals, meaning five was an hour. Then they would miraculously discover where the forced couple had made off to and they could be escorted home.

Ben led her over a long hanging bridge, suspended by ropes. She had to admit that the view of the river was nice. Ben stopped halfway and leaned against the supports.

"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," he said, looking at her almost reverently. Uma thought for a moment. She really couldn't come up with anything she hadn't told Harry. Sure, there were a few things she hadn't _told_ him, but he still knew, and most of those things Ben definitely never needed to hear about, especially as her future husband. So she went for some random fact.

"I used to sneak away from my tutors in the sea palace," she supplied. Ben grinned.

"Really, Uma?" he teased. "How naughty of you."

She smiled back as if she found him funny.

"You have no idea," she said with a smirk.

She laughed genuinely at the look on his face. She leaned forward so that she was only inches from his face. She smirked again as he went completely still. She tapped his chin with her index finger, then flicked his nose.

"Hey!" he protested, coming out of his frozen state. She laughed and twirled away. It was actually fun to mess with him.

He chased after her and they ran down the path. She crested a hill in front of him, and stopped when she beheld the other side.

Spread out below her was a sparkling lake. Down the hill, a stone platform jutted into the water, ringed by carved columns. It looked like something out of a storybook, which, she supposed, it was. Bright little lights floated in the air between her and the lake. Across the water, a miniature canyon was made by two dark cliffs, leading down a river to a cascading waterfall. She could feel the magic of the place buzzing and pulsing, as real as the air she breathed, maybe even more so. It enveloped her in its comforting embrace, and she had never been in a place that felt so _right_.

Ben bumped into her back, and she tripped down the hill.

"Oh my gosh, Uma!" he cried. He chased after her down the hill, where she settled in a spot of lush grass and flowers, laughing at the fun of something she had never experienced. "Uma, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

She settled into the bed of plants and looked up at him and his worried expression. It shifted into something a little admiring, and a little enchanted. She wondered if the magic of the lake was working on him too.

"I never thought I say this to a girl who just rolled down a hill, but you look..." he kept staring at her. "Beyond beautiful."

She smiled at him from her place on the ground.

"Thanks, Little Prince."

He seemed to come out of a daze as he extended his hand for her to take. She was about to wave him away, when she remembered she was a princess. So she took it, and allowed him to pull her up. When he did he held on to her hand for a little to long, stared into her eyes enough for her to get uncomfortable. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and for the first time she wondered if he really was in love with her. She tilted her head as she considered the possibility.

He finally stepped away and gestured at the little temple-like structure.

"This is the real date," he said.

The ancient stones had a thick checkered blanket spread out on them, and baskets of food sat on it. She wondered what he would've done with all this if she hadn't helped them escape the guards. He lead her over and she sat, careful of her skirt. She hated wearing long skirts. In fact she was a bit used to not wearing pants or anything below her waist at all, around Harry and in her cecaelia form. 

"How are you liking Auradon?" the prince asked.

Uma nodded, picking up a dark round berry and inspecting it. She had never seen anything like it.

"It's great," she answered.

"I'm not totally stupid, Uma," Ben chided. _You sure about that?_ she wanted to say. "I _can_ tell when you're lying."

 _Not if I was really trying_ , she thought.

She shrugged.

"It's... well, it's different from home," she admitted.

"How so?"

"You mean besides the fact that everything isn't underwater?"

Ben laughed. "Yeah."

She sighed as she popped the berry into her mouth and reached for another.

"Well for one thing, I don't have my lessons."

Ben started with wide eyes.

"I totally forgot to tell you!" he exclaimed. "School starts in two weeks for us."

Uma didn't know what to think of that, so she filed it away for later.

"So I'll be going?"

"Yes," he nodded. "But you'll continue to stay at the castle, not a dorm."

"Will I have my guard?" 

_Will Harry get to go to school?_

"Uh, ya."

"Okay." _Good._ "Actually, what's the legal age for adults here?"

"Eighteen," he said. "Why?"

"I was wondering if he could actually attend classes."

"Who?"

Uma stared at him incredulously. She had literally just asked about Harry. "Harry."

Ben frowned.

"Who's that?"

Uma realized what she had said.

"My guard," she explained simply, trying to feign no emotional attachment. "Also, why do you go to school still? I thought you were eighteen?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm in my final year."

"Oh," she answered, as if she knew anything about what he was talking about. In Atlantica, only the royals got an education besides music class, and Harry had never mentioned a school on the island where he lived. 

"Well," Ben changed the subject. "You must have known it was love at first sight if you wanted to come marry me when we hadn't even met."

Uma blinked. This kid didn't know shit.

"I've literally never seen you before this morning."

"Really?" he looked astonished. Why was he acting surprised? Could he really not know? Did he really think she loved him? "Not even on TV?"

She shook her head.

"We don't have TV's under water."

"Oh." When he looked up at her he appeared genuinely sorry. "I hope we didn't cause any problems."

Uma thought of her anger, Harry's mental breakdown, the food they had both missed which he definitely needed, the game they were being forced into, the whole world trying to tear apart the bond they had to pretend didn't exist.

"No problem," she lied. "At least I won't have to marry some skolopendra or something. I got lucky with you."

Ben looked confused, but also pleased with the compliment.

"What's a slolepadro-thingy?"

Uma's laugh was mostly real.

"Skolopendra," she corrected. "Basically a big shrimp-lobster-catfish sea monster that roams the Aegean Sea. Real gross."

Ben made a disgusted face.

"Have you ever seen one?"

This time Uma's laugh was 100% genuine.

"I dared my my friend to ride one, once."' She laughed again at the memory. "He got caught in the whiskers and was almost eaten before he changed and slipped out."

"What do you mean he changed?"

"The thing had him by his legs, but it couldn't hold on to his mer-tail."

"So he's a mermaid?"

"I _did_ live under water. But no, Harry's a human. Triton made part of the amphibious division, so he can change back and forth. Lucky for him, his clothes change too, or else he would have to take off his pants every time he wanted to swim. Doesn't do that for me."

"So Harry's your friend?" Ben asked with a mixture of intrigue and a little jealousy.

"Yeah. And my guard, the one who let us slip off," she added, for some reason wanting to give Ben a high opinion of him.

"Wait, he let us?" Ben looked slightly crestfallen as she nodded. "I was hoping I was just good at sneaking away."

Uma laughed lightly.

"He said we had an hour. And don't worry, I'll give you some lessons."

Ben blushed.

"Hey, do you want to take a swim?"

"What?"

"Yeah, come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

"How long do we have?" she asked, feeling a pang of longing as she remembered Harry saying the same thing that morning.

Ben checked his watch as he began to undress.

"Still about forty minutes." 

"Okay," she said reluctantly, warily watching him undress. He seemed to pick up on her discomfort. 

"Don't worry, I've got a swimsuit on."

Uma sighed gratefully (not that she hadn't seen a guy naked before, but she wasn't anxious to do so with Ben) and followed him to the water's edge. He jumped right in to the shallow water. She removed her shoes and socks and joined him. Her blue dress floated around her like a cloud, but not high enough for him to see under. Thankfully. He took her both her hands and led her slowly deeper. Soon Uma could no longer touch and she had to let go and swim.

She could swim in her human form, though not extremely well. In fact, the clear waters and shimmering crystals at the bottom of the lake reminded her very much of the lagoon on Harry's favorite island, the one where he had taught her to swim - among other things.

Ben splashed some water on her face. Uma laughed, and decided she could allow herself to like him a little bit. They played in the water like nine-year-olds until they got tired and returned to the shallow area.

"Uma," Ben said, suddenly serious. "I want you to have this." He slipped a golden ring on her left ring finger. It had the emblem of a beast head, his royal seal. "It's ypur engagement ring." He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed her ring, not breaking eye contact.

Uma studied the symbol on her hand, trying to tell herself it wasn't his fault, but all she could think about was the cold dread settling in her stomach, and that he couldn't say her name the way Harry did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it took a while, but trust me, I'm working diligently on the next. I love reading comments, so please leave some!  
> Also, I recently watched a bit of The Lodge, and I imagined a scene with a Descendants/Lodge crossover, where Uma walks in and sees Sean and says "Who are you and why are you Harry?".


End file.
